VIKING EPICSAUCE

Post written August 15th, 2012

Several months ago, I joined a group on Facebook called "Noblesse Largesse,"  which is an inter-kingdom A&S swap.  You fill out a survey and send it in to the coordinator (she's a great lady, and the process is very safe).  All the surveys are mixed up somehow and re-assigned:  you receive someone's survey, and based on the information about their persona that they provided, you create a gift for them of some kind and mail it to them.  Meanwhile, someone out there is making something for you, too.

[Note:  there was a bit of a mix-up with shipping, and it was a long, long time before I received word that my craft had been received on the other end.   I didn't want to post this here until she'd seen it; it didn't seem right.  Plus, on the off-chance she came across this blog? Yeah.]

The person who was assigned to me was a woman in the Outlands with a 10th century Danish Viking persona, and whose personal heraldic colors are purple and silver.  Now, I know nothing about Viking stuff, aside from the fact that they seem to like wearing lots of bling on their apron dresses.  No, seriously, that was the sum total of my knowledge.

But I knew I liked to paint boxes (as you may recall).  Along the way in my initial research, I came across these beauties:

The Bamberg Casket, 11thC Denmark/Norway
walrus ivory and gilt bronze, carved in the Mammen style

The Cammin Casket, 11thC Denmark
elk ivory and gilt bronze, Mammen style carvings

Two beautiful pieces - to which I could never do justice.  But I decided to try my hand at a sort-of facsimile with modern hobby-store materials  (the swap craft must cost you no more than $25).  Here's my version:

I don't think that sucks at all.  :) 

It's wood, hand-carved, and then treated  to resemble/feel like carved ivory or bone.

The inside is purple, for my swap recipient! 

A little purple cushion, and some trinkets to go inside:

Angels, because that's part of her heraldic device

An M, for her first name

A key, which is a symbol of a Viking woman's rule over her home, 

and a couple of veil pins, because I have like a frillion of them.  

Tomorrow I'll show you how I did it.  :)
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